Instituto Habla Hispana, San Miguel de Allende

I studied here for four weeks in November, 2016 and can highly recommend it. The instructors are very good, college level, and they have some good activities outside of the classes like on Wednesday when he had singing lessons with Enrique. Enrique would pick classic Mexican songs and we would learn them and sing them to help with our enunciation and understanding of proper intonation in Spanish. On Monday we would tour around the city and on Friday there was a cooking class followed by a meal enjoying what we cooked. The location is great, close to el centro and just around the corner from a great organic restaurant Via Organico.

Very good school, very helpful ! First, San Miguel de Allende is great! (which you can read about, I don’t know…everywhere!) I was doing a thorough search to figure out in what Latin American country I should enroll in Spanish classes; and stumbled across what I considered a pretty good deal at Habla Hispana. I knew I wanted to stay at least a month and I wanted the area to be fairly reasonable and (theoretically) away from the tourist traps (beaches). So stumble I did and am I infinitely grateful. For the time I was there, Martha taught my class. She was so patient and willing to go out of her way to help us understand, especially since my brain is made of Teflon—nothing sticks. She was also incredibly helpful when it came to understanding the culture, the mix of indigenous and Spanish, and how each/both influenced the way the language is spoken today in Mexico. (I was surprised at how much that helped). I was able to improve my Spanish quite a bit; and having to speak Spanish in the area forces extra advancement. Habla Hispana is a cozy school with small classes (they only go to 10 persons per class). Classes are 4 hours a day consisting of a couple hours of grammar and a couple of conversation. The school also has residences on the property that are really nice and comfortable. Also offered are homestays with some really terrific locals. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up extending my stay. Angelica runs the place and is incredibly warm and helpful, plus she is the great cook that teaches a Friday afternoon cooking class (strongly recommend). Enrique (intermediate instructor) likes to get things stirred up by asking people to try their conversational skills talking about controversial subjects. Socorro teaches the beginning classes and pushes you to become comfortable speaking, even at a beginner level. Teresa is warm, patient and friendly. Each of the teachers switch off daily for the conversational portion of the classes--very helpful! Monday afternoons the school has a tour of different areas around San Miguel that also helps assist with learning Spanish. On top of all this, the other students were very interesting and fun. You meet people from all over the world who are also attempting to figure out another language and at the same time you learn about their countries as well. Overall, very rewarding experience and I am hoping to return.

Great school with professional staff that teach grammar while enhancing conversational skills. Instructors go beyond the call of duty to make each student's visit to SMdA a positive experience, especially if you reside in one of the three fabulous dormitory rooms. They truly care about your personal well-being A wonderful school in a fascinating town. You will definitely get your money's worth.